Picking out a new garage door is no small task. Whether you're outfitting a brand new house or replacing your old one. It's a task few homeowners have much experience with. Garage doors come in a wide range of prices, from a few hundred dollars for a basic model, uninstalled, to thousands of dollars for a top-of-the-line, professionally installed door.

One thing that might surprise you is that replacing the garage door may well prove to be a good investment. Remodeling magazine has found that the return on investment in a garage door is better than just about any other home improvement project.

With that in mind, here are five big questions you need to answer to help get a handle on what your garage door costs might be.

Do You Need a New Garage Door?

For many, this is a simple question to answer. Wood garage doors rot, metal garage doors get banged up, track hardware falls apart. If that's the situation you face, there's probably not much choice in the matter.

But just because your garage door isn't functioning properly, it doesn't necessarily follow that it needs to be replaced. You can hold down your garage door costs by doing a little maintenance and repair yourself.

If cold air whips around the edges of your garage door, you don't necessarily need to replace it, the door may just need some patching. Also note that wood and metal garage doors can be transformed with a paint job, which is much less expensive than replacement.

What Kind of Garage Door Should You Choose?

One of the biggest variables in garage door costs is in the materials used. For some information on how garage door costs might be reflected in the material you choose, read about ​choosing the best material for your door.

What Determines the Cost of Your Door?

Garage door costs are going to depend on quite a bit more than just the price of the door. Garage door replacements often also include new tracks (the metal parts in which the rollers move up and down). Find out if the cost you have been quoted includes new tracks.

As with most consumer products, it pays to shop around and compare garage door costs. Most cities have a large number of contractors who specialize in garage door installations and repairs. Give all of them a call and find two or three who will give you a written estimate. You might also want to compare garage door costs offered by Home Depot and Lowe's. Both usually carry garage doors, and Home Depot usually offers an installation service as well. Garage door costs at both stores range from about $300 (one-car) to $450 (two-car). Double those figures and you should have a ballpark idea of installed garage door costs.

Installing the Garage Door Yourself

Home centers sell garage doors that are not particularly difficult to install. Before deciding to reduce your garage door cost by installing it yourself, contact the manufacturer for installation instructions. If the project looks manageable, go for it. As with most home improvement projects, the best way to reduce garage door costs is to do it yourself.

Replacing the Garage Door Opener

If your garage door opener is working fine with the current garage door, there's probably no reason to change it. The only exception to this would be if you buy a new garage door that is considerably heavier than the old one and your garage door opener is not strong enough to handle the extra load. Look for a lightweight garage door replacement, however, and you can avoid having to replace the garage door opener.